Dangerous Areas, Days and Times to Drive in Florida

The 5 Most Dangerous Areas for Florida Drivers

In 2011, Florida cities accounted for nearly one-third of the 15 most dangerous cities for driving in the nation. When searching for statistics about the most dangerous places to drive in the United States, these Florida cities will consistently rank highly among them:

Fort Lauderdale, Florida (fatality rate per 100,000 people: 22.39)

Orlando, Florida (fatality rate per 100,000 people: 19.95)

Jacksonville, Florida (fatality rate per 100,000 people: 14.36)

St. Petersburg, Florida (fatality rate per 100,000 people: 14.27)

Fort Lauderdale and Orlando ranked first and second on this list, respectively. Another interesting number: Florida’s I-95 ranked as America’s deadliest highway in 2010.

If you conduct a Google search for dangerous areas to drive in Florida, one city that will consistently pop up in headings is Miami. In fact, Huffington Post released an article in 2013 claiming that Miami has “the country’s worst drivers.” One of the most alarming points in the article was that “drivers in Miami … have a terrifying tendency to hit pedestrians.”

The 10 Most Dangerous Days to Drive in Florida

While some states have clear days of the week that are more dangerous for drivers than others, Florida falls in line with the nation’s 10 most dangerous driving days:

Memorial Day weekend: On average, 400 people per year die on this weekend.

The start of Daylight Savings Time – There’s a 17% increase in traffic fatalities on the Monday after shifting to Daylight Savings Time.

NFL game day: A home-team win increases collisions by 3.2%, while a home-team loss increases collisions by 9.4%.

Friday the 13th: Collisions increase by about 13% on Friday the 13th compared to the other days in the same month.

New Year’s Day: January 1st ranks as the #1 day of the year with the highest percent of car accident deaths related to alcohol.

July 4th: This day ranks as the second deadliest day for drunken drivers.

Thanksgiving: Roughly 46.3 million Americans drive at least 50 miles on Thanksgiving, naturally leading to more car accidents.

Christmas: The six days around Christmas rank as 27% more dangerous than New Year’s Eve.

St. Patrick’s Day: From 2009 to 2013, 276 people were killed over St. Patrick’s Day weekends.

Driving conditions in Florida become even more dangerous around these days. While it’s important to be attentive every time you get behind the wheel, pay extra attention on holidays and holiday weekends.

Dangerous Times for Florida Drivers

The Florida Drivers Association found that there was a high correlation between dangerous times to be on the road and the number of teenagers behind the wheel. They found the most dangerous times for Florida drivers to include:

The summertime, when there are 44% more teen drivers on the road (spending an average of 23.6 hours a week driving).

The nighttime, when new drivers have much more difficulty judging distance and, in general, more drivers are tired.

Even the safest and most responsible teenagers are still relative novices when it comes to driving. The more teens out on the road, the higher the chance of a car accident. Whether you’re a new driver or you’ve been behind the wheel for several years, remember that the summertime is the most dangerous season of the year and the nighttime hours are the most dangerous times of the day.

Protect Yourself and Your Car

Whether it’s summer, the hours after an NFL game, or just another day in Fort Lauderdale, it’s clear that Florida can be one of the most dangerous states for a driver.

Protect yourself, your car, and the people around you by enrolling in our traffic school course. You can use it to remove a speeding ticket from your record or lower your insurance rates, and use the information to reduce your chances of being involved in a devastating car accident.